Syringe pumps can be used in medical and small-scale laboratory research applications, such as biochemical and microfluidic applications, to dispense a fluid, such as a drug or reagent, at a controlled rate.
Examples of syringe pumps include syringe pumps marketed by KD Scientific Inc., Holliston, Mass., United States and by Warner Instruments, Hamden, Conn., United States. Examples of syringe pumps are also described in US 2005/0036919 A1 and US 2004/0043499 A1, FR 2 950 887 A1, DE 10 2009 054 532 A1 and CA 2 5 38 499 A1. An arrangement can be employed which uses multiple syringes and an example of such an arrangement is described in US 2009/0035825 A1. In many of these examples, the syringe pumps are used in polymerase chain reaction (PCR) reactors.
Syringe pumps, particularly those used in medical and PCR applications, are typically used to dispense fluids containing small particles, i.e. usually having particle sizes no more than 1 mm, and low dry solids content, i.e. normally no more a few percent. These syringe pumps also employ small syringes, i.e. having volumes up to around 100 ml).